They did it! A collaborative effort in Thomasville earned the Chair City the title of All-America City. The award was announced Sunday night.

Two other cities in North Carolina earned the status too — Dunn and Garner. Only 10 in the nation made it to the top. Other cities which earned the status include Birmingham, Ala.; Montrose, Colo.; Dubuque, Iowa; Downey, Calif.; Peoria, Ill.; Owensboro, Ky. and Norfolk, Va.

The team is due back at the Chamber office on Randolph Street about 5:30 p.m. Monday and hope the community will celebrate success with them.

The National Civic League named the 10 winners of the 2013 All-America City Awards, an honor given each year to towns, cities, counties, neighborhoods and metropolitan regions for outstanding civic achievement.

According to a press release, the awards program since 1949 has recognized more than 650 communities for addressing local challenges with innovative, grassroots strategies that promote civic engagement and cooperation between the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Hundreds of civic leaders and community volunteers met in Denver, Colo., over the weekend to exchange ideas and present their stories of positive change to a jury of civic experts. Members of each delegation described in detail their community’s response to a range of challenges, everything from joblessness, to housing deterioration from the mortgage crisis to providing health care for returning veterans.

This year’s awards had a special focus on communities that implemented programs to recognize or assist veterans and military families.

The 2013 awards celebration opened with a welcome message from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, chairman of the National Civic League Board of Directors.

“Through your applications, preparations and presentations you have already demonstrated the qualities we look for in an All-America City--collaboration, innovation, inclusiveness and a can-do spirit,” he noted in a video statement to the delegates. “In the eyes of the National Civic League Board, staff and All-America City volunteers, every community here is a winner.”